Amnesty International briefing: Bangladesh quota reform protests (July 2024, ASA 13/8372/2024)

This document is an open letter dated July 2024 from Amnesty International Secretary General Agnès Callamard to Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, expressing grave concern over the violent government crackdown on student-led "quota reform" protests in Bangladesh. The letter documents that between 147 and 211 people were killed by security forces — including police, RAB, Border Guards, and military — who used birdshot, tear gas, and AK-pattern assault rifles against protesters, alongside violence perpetrated by the ruling party's student wing (BCL). The letter specifically condemns a nationwide internet shutdown lasting 11 days, shoot-on-sight curfew orders, a blanket ban on protests under Section 144, and the mass arrest of approximately 10,000 people with over 213,000 individuals accused in police cases. Amnesty International also highlights the broader pattern of suppressing dissent through repressive legislation such as the Digital Security Act and Cyber Security Act. The letter concludes with six concrete demands, including lifting the curfew, releasing detained protesters, ensuring accountability for unlawful killings, cooperating with a UN investigation, providing reparations to victims, and repealing repressive laws such as the Cyber Security Act 2023.

View original source ↗

Attribution

Amnesty International

Publisher

Amnesty International

Rights

Rights retained by the original publisher. Archived as a preservation copy for public research, with attribution and a link to the original.

Persistent ID

ark:/19160/sfaghualdkjcm7gg5sgwbcto24y

Free to use with due credit — please cite the attribution above.